Abbott's Galectin-3 Test Provides Doctors in Europe with New Tool for Assessing the Prognosis of Chronic Heart Failure Patients

Galectin-3 test may help physicians identify patients at highest risk for a worse prognosis, including re-hospitalization and death, allowing them to tailor the level of care to individual patient needs1

PR Newswire

ABBOTT PARK, Ill.

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., April 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott today announced CE Marking (Conformite Europeenne) for the ARCHITECT Galectin-3 assay, a test to aid doctors in assessing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure (HF). The test was developed in partnership with BG Medicine, Inc., (NASDAQ: BGMD) to run on Abbott's ARCHITECT immunochemistry platform.

"Galectin-3 reflects the pathophysiology of heart failure and is one of the most powerful prognostic indicators in heart failure. It helps clinicians identify which patients are at high risk for worsening heart failure early in the course of their disease," said Dr. Rudolf de Boer, Associate Professor in Cardiology at the University Medical Centre Groningen, the Netherlands. "Knowing which patients are at increased risk of hospital readmission – independent of other variables – could provide physicians with important information to help them reach different decisions about treatment, which may benefit patient care."

Heart failure, or the inability of the heart to circulate blood effectively, is associated with poor patient outcomes, a lower quality of life, and recurrent and costly health services.2, 3 While the progress of HF is different for each patient, several studies demonstrate that HF patients with higher levels of a protein called galectin-3 present are more likely to have worse outcomes, including re-hospitalization and death.4

"Despite numerous medical advances, the number of deaths among hospitalized heart failure patients remains high, exceeding that of most cancers," said Brian Blaser, executive vice president, Diagnostics Products, Abbott. "The new ARCHITECT Galectin-3 test is a helpful tool to aid physicians in their care of these critically ill patients."

The ARCHITECT Galectin-3 test is available in several European countries.

Intended Use
The ARCHITECT Galectin-3 assay is a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) for the quantitative determination of galectin-3 in human serum and EDTA plasma on the ARCHITECT i System. The ARCHITECT Galectin-3 assay may be used in conjunction with clinical evaluation as an aid in assessing the prognosis of patients diagnosed with chronic heart failure.

About BG Medicine
BG Medicine, Inc., (Nasdaq: BGMD) is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel cardiovascular tests to address significant unmet medical needs, improve patient outcomes and reduce healthcare costs. The Company has two products: the BGM Galectin-3® test for use in patients with chronic heart failure is available in the United States and Europe; and the CardioSCORE™ test for the risk prediction of major cardiovascular events will be launched in Europe in the first half of 2013.

About Abbott Diagnostics
Abbott is a global leader in in vitro diagnostics and offers a broad range of innovative instrument systems and tests for hospitals, reference labs, molecular labs, blood banks, physician offices and clinics. With more than 22,000 customers in more than 100 countries, Abbott's diagnostic products offer customers automation, convenience, bedside testing, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility. Abbott has helped transform the practice of medical diagnosis from an art to a science through the company's commitment to improving patient care and lowering costs.

About Abbott
Abbott is a global healthcare company devoted to improving life through the development of products and technologies that span the breadth of healthcare. With a portfolio of leading, science-based offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals, Abbott serves people in more than 150 countries and employs approximately 70,000 people.

Visit Abbott at www.abbott.com and connect with us on Twitter at @AbbottNews.

Unless otherwise specified, all product and service names appearing in this Internet site are trademarks owned by or licensed to Abbott, its subsidiaries or affiliates. No use of any Abbott trademark, trade name, or trade dress in this site may be made without the prior written authorization of Abbott, except to identify the product or services of the company.

You are about to exit for another Abbott country or region specific website

Please be aware that the website you have requested is intended for the residents of a particular country or countries, as noted on that site. As a result, the site may contain information on pharmaceuticals, medical devices and other products or uses of those products that are not approved in other countries or regions.

The website you have requested also may not be optimized for your specific screen size.

Do you wish to continue and exit this website?

You are about to exit the Abbott family of websites for a 3rd party website

Links which take you out of Abbott worldwide websites are not under the control of Abbott, and Abbott is not responsible for the contents of any such site or any further links from such site. Abbott is providing these links to you only as a convenience, and the inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the linked site by Abbott.

The website that you have requested also may not be optimized for your screen size.